Explain “ only a sweet and virtuous soul /Like seasoned timber never gives
The lines are taken from Herbert’s Virtue.
The last quatrain presents images of an eternal soul. Through a metaphoric explanation the poet says that A seasoned timber cannot be burnt and changed into coal and therefore it never surrender to corrosion. Similarly the virtuous soul remains unchanged in spite of the passing of time. The phrase ‘turn to coal’ means totally destroyed. It implies that the whole World will be destructed with the passing of time. By ‘chiefly lives’ the poet means that the soul will remain alive when the world will remain no more. As such, the entire poem, which all along warned of death, shows the way in which Herbert believes that he and his readers may achieve eternal life.
The fourth stanza of the poem continues some of the nature imagery but primarily contrasts the first three stanzas in concentrating on the longevity of the “sweet and virtuous soul.” Here the speaker is no longer addressing different aspects of nature but instead is making a statement about the virtuous soul. The speaker gives the virtuous soul the image of “seasoned timber” (line 14), which “never gives” and lasts much longer then seasonal things such as roses or sweet days.
In concluding the poem with the image of life, the speaker is causing life to stand out in contrast to the rest of the stanza’s ending lines which all come to the conclusion of death. The fourth stanza, with its conclusion, is the answer to the assumed question posed after the first three stanzas, “If all of nature dies, then what shall live?” The speaker gives the answer the “virtuous soul.”
Herbert’s poem “Virtue” is very much in what is often classified as his metaphysical style. ” Herbert gives close readers a piece of work, full of well used metaphors and personifications, that can be long appreciated. In his peaceful yet emotionally stimulating images, Herbert causes one to appreciate the holiness of the world around them. He also shows that there is still value in the natural world, however finite it may be. But as his final message, Herbert conveys the idea of the finite nature of this physical world and offers a solution for those seeking to transcend it.
DOWNLOAD AS PDF CLICK ME
0 Comments